We equate remodeling to pregnancy. At first you are cautious, then you are optimistic. Eventually you are scared then you are uncomfortable. You get frustrated and anxious toward the end and then you have a beautiful baby, I mean, kitchen.

Kitchen remodeling (and any other major remodel) can be stressful. You and your family will have to make tough decisions about who to select as your contractor and how much you want to invest in your remodel. You will have to make timely decisions about the design aspect of your kitchen remodel. To top it off, your home will have little privacy as contractors and installers build your new kitchen.

Sometime in the middle of your project you are going to get frustrated. It happens to everyone and it is because of the high level of stress you are encountering during construction. You will want the job to be over and you will want to take out your frustration on someone.

As a customer (or potential customer) of Classic Home Improvements, we wanted to give you some information and tips for you to refer back to when you have those moments of frustration.

HGTV versus Real-World Renovations: When it comes time to select your material (or your contractor), do not expect to pay the prices you are seeing on HGTV. Most of the material featured on reality television is featured by advertisers who severely discount their material to networks as an advertising method. Also, do not expect your remodel to be completed in a weekend. Reality television shows are for entertaining purposes, please do not use them for information gathering, you will be sorely disappointed if you do.

Homeowner Communication: There will be over 100 moving parts in your remodel. You will have no less than 20 people involved in your remodel. Communication is imperative during your remodel but the key element is not that you communicate – it is that you communicate with the correct person. You will be designated a project manager and it is absolutely critical that 100% of your communication is with your project manager to ensure your project is completed smoothly.

Keeping Informed by your Project Manager: We have the benefit of working in the industry so we understand what is happening behind the scenes of your remodel. Our goal is to keep you informed of what is happening every day during construction because we do not want you to think “nothing is happening” if you come home one day and it looks like nothing has changed. You will get daily updates of your project via email or text, we encourage you to interact with us if you have a concern. You should never have to wonder “what happened today”.

Let Us Do Our Job: We have found that most times when homeowners get frustrated during their remodel it is because they are trying to manage their own project. We encourage you NOT to try to do that. Reading articles online about construction, working as a handyman, and watching HGTV does not make you a contractor. Think about it, when you go to your mechanic do you tell him how to fix your brakes or do you instruct a surgeon how to stitch you back up? We are the professionals you hired to remodel your kitchen, let us do our job. When you selected Classic Home Improvements to build your kitchen remodel, there had to be a specific reason. We ask customers why they hired us and typically the response is that we were professional, we were responsive, or we had great referrals. If and when you get frustrated we ask that you remember why you hired us.

We are not done until we say we are done: Construction is a lengthy process and needs to be completed in a very specific sequence to ensure it is completed properly. We encourage you to ask questions if you are truly worried about something, but we need to remind you not to try to manage your own project, that is why you hired us. If something looks unfinished that is because it is unfinished. We are not done until we say we are done. Trust us to complete your project in the sequence it needs to be completed in. We want your job to be completed just as much as you do and we expect the same high quality of work you do.

This still isn’t done: I know, I am repeating here. We are not done until we say we are done. Here is what you need to know: once we have everything just about wrapped up, your project manager will walk the project on his own to create what we call a “pick up list”. These are items that are not to our standards and need to be fixed or completed by our installers. Once our internal pick up list is completed, we will invite you to meet with us at the project to point out any concerns you have. Any items on your list of concerns that we agree are not to industry standards (or our high standards) we will fix for you.

We say we are done: Now, we are done! We pride ourselves on our high level of workmanship and we are pretty confident you are going to love your finished remodel. We will invite you back at your home to meet with our project manager and confirm we are completed. At confirmation of completion we will ask for our final payment and have you sign final completion paperwork.

Feedback is important: Classic Home Improvements is dedicated to continually improving our processes and procedures. Employees and vendors are directly affected by reviews which name them personally and for that reason they are dedicated to providing the best possible customer service. We have grown leaps and bounds above our competitors in customer satisfaction because we listen to our feedback and make adjustments based on them. We will ask for you to respond a 3rd party, Guild Quality, when they reach out to you for a review of our services. It will take you only 5 minutes but will make a huge impact on our organization.